Sovereign or subjugated?

Sovereignty misunderstood

Last month India rejoiced on the 60th Anniversary of its constitution. 26th January 1950 was indeed a red letter day for India as we Indians stood up and adopted a charter that was free and provided opportunity to one and all. At the same time it ensured our sovereignty. Our constitution gave us the freedom to not only practice what we believe in but also gave us a nation that was capable of taking its own decisions and not being subservient to anyone. As a proud Indian, I salute all those known and unknown souls who made this constitution a reality. I salute because of their vision. I salute because had it not been their far sightedness, we might have just about ended up as just another nation which is counted because of its geographical existence and not because of its status and strength. Hamare buzurgoun ko salaam!!
Indeed, we have been gifted with the two most sought after W’s-wisdom and wealth. Our heritage made our future a lot easier to craft. We moulded with success.
But today I stop and look back. What must have been in the mind of Pandit Nehru, Dr.Ambedkar , Maulana Azad and all those who strived for India’s freedom? Did they visualize the India as it is today? Perhaps partly.
India has grown as a giant in the world today. This would have pleased Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru no end as this was their vision. The freedom fighters laid down their lives for a better India. And today we stand with pride in our eyes living their dreams of a free and fair India. The 50’s and the 60’s were the Nehru Era when India stepped into the world with decisive and firm steps. We saw the beginning of the demise of untouchability and discriminations. Nehru ushered technology that led us to the Silicon Valley!
India started to bloom. But still away from a glorious, full bloom!
But an honest evaluation may reveal a slightly uncomfortable picture. Uncomfortable at our own contribution, at our own roles. Uncomfortable at our compromise of our sovereignty. I suspect that we never really understood what sovereignty meant. We sold our nation to our own whims and fancies. Our own petty parochial thinking. We forgot the nation and remembered our caste, creed, religion. We forgot the sacrifices of our forefathers and looked at what benefits us, our family. National interests got buried below our idiosyncrasies. We became insular, blinkered.
India has not reached where it should have. We have the potential but not the willingness. We stride not hard enough to reach the goal. We form political parties that have agendas which take us away from national perspectives. We patronize politicians who never wish the welfare of the masses. We are subjugated not sovereign! Whatever India has grown, it is by its rich heritage. Not by our efforts.
When will we really understand that a sovereign India will be achieved only when we forget vote bank politics? When we stop divisive politics. In the race for world supremacy, India needs its children to stand shoulder to shoulder. We need to create a truly sovereign India. Indians need to wake up to the stark reality that nations progress when the citizens strive and sacrifice. When hard work replaces lethargy and when national pride displaces ill conceived petty personal gains.
A truly free India will assume the mantle of the Leader of the world. We owe this to our children.

Obama, Lend me your ears

Barack, you are almost on the verge of completing a year in Office as the most powerful man in the world. When you stop and look back, what do you see? Peace on shaky grounds? International violence on the rise ?
I know you can. But what we do not know is when you can. And it is this uncertainty that casts its doubt about .Yes, you are a man of peace. I believe in this albeit I am in the small minority. When you were awarded the Nobel Peace prize, there were skeptics gunning for those who decided. They sniggered and summarily cast aside the citation and called the whole exercise as politics. But I believed in the award and still believe that the right man has got the award at just the right time.
But when I read the story of the Lap Bomber, I was shell shocked. The timing of the whole episode reminded me of the video tapes emerging just before the presidential polls featuring George Bush. Even your clear tone seemed to acquire a slight Texan brawl. We all remember Richard Reid, the "shoe bomber," arrested on December 22, 2001, for trying to blow up American Airlines flight 63, coming into Miami from Paris. The issue set the stage for a massive screening of selected passengers at all airports and you specifically named fourteen nations whom you distrust. This skepticism alienates even further. Although a ridiculous exercise, you seem to be set to get the screening going which as per the CBS news, “ Bares All”. It's called a "whole body imager," and it can indeed see your whole body underneath your clothing”, according to CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes.
Barack, we know that humans have a way of competing with each other. We know that there is always a war between the good and the bad. That is nature. That is why Law and the criminal are always vying to be a step ahead of the other. That is why crime still happens the world over in spite of great policing efforts. That is why we had the Oklahoma Bomber. You agree?
Barack, any amount of screening will not guarantee safety. This is because, you, a man of peace, is looking at the wrong end of the gun. You have tried to reach when the plant has grown into a tree. Reach when the sapling can still be moulded.
You, a worthy persona, is lamentably providing knee jerk treatment which is superficial. You are not reaching at the root cause. Barack, the Nobel laureate, may please take a leaf out of the original man of peace Mahatma Gandhi and do some “Gandhigiri”. No nation or community is inherently gun toting. When the environment instills insecurity, the instinct of survival moves one to measures other than peace. Let me quote from Psychology Today which proves my point, “Societal influences help foment violent behavior. The images that populate mass media actually have the longest-lasting impact of all contributors to violence. Prolonged exposure to violent images increases the of becoming a victim, desensitizes violence, and heightens the viewer's appetite for similarly engaging in violence”.
Barack, you are still in your presidential infancy. You have the vision and I have the faith. Yes, you can-replace the gun with peace and trust and propagate policies to weed out the root cause of violence. Lap Bombers will automatically cease to exist.

The world of 2010

A lesson learnt

As the 2009 Sun was about to bid goodbye

It stopped and looked at me

There was a smile alright

But it lacked in warmth and real happiness.

I smiled back with joy

And looked deep into the setting Sun

Why was it devoid of zest

What was amiss that saddened the Sun?

I was glad to see the setting of the year

I had lived with happiness and joy

There was pleasure and felt no fear

But perhaps the Sun had seen what I had not

My World was small

But the Sun had seen the World

It saw the flying missiles and passing bullets

It saw the slow dying of those who starved

It heard the cries of the trodden and old

It saw the helplessness of the weak

It felt the fear of the hounded

It cried when children were orphaned

This it saw over and over again

It saw each in his own little world

Oblivious of the sorrows of the rest

It never slept, joy was lost, it only wept.

But a small smile adorns the setting Sun

It sends a message of hope

All is not lost, there is scope

The early morning rays beckon

Now I see what the Sun wanted to say

Indeed, we forgot the weak and hungry

We saw our own small world and lived

Like the Sun, we need to live for the World.

It is time we felt and lived

Not just for our own small circle

But for humanity, the entire world

Let’s keep pace with the 2010 Sun.

Syed Abdallah Rizvi

Dammam/2010

India bleeds once again

Two events is a day. Though separated by hundreds of miles, each has the capacity to change history. And surely will History change but sadly for India, yet another arrow in the heart of Mother India.

NDT or ND Tewari has allegedly done what one could have never even imagined. An 86 year old man, with one step on the ground and the other on the pyre has the audacity of playing ras leela. At a time when the grand Pandit should be sunk deep into the chanting of the Vedas, he is delving deep into the forbidden lands. Whether this is a fact or just a malicious campaign to push ahead the Telangana issue, one would never know. The Congress high command saw wisdom in sacking Tewari in order to douse the flame of Telangana. The bloody flames will ensure that Tewari gets no chance to prove his innocence! And we suddenly hear cries of the hysteric masses demanding that Tewari be sanctioned for his misdemenour. We are hearing slogans of ethics and values. Let me leave this issue here..for the time being.

And on the other side we have the wily “Guru” of Jharkhand. He tramples ethics and values as one does the dead leaves in the jungles of Kharkhand. Let us take a quick look at the man who has been invited by the Governor to form the government. On 23 January 1975, he was allegedly part of a mob that attacked the Muslim-dominated Chirudih village in Jamtara Ten people including nine Muslims were killed in the attack. Along with sixty eight others, he was charged with murder. In 1986, an arrest warrant was issued against him. In 2002, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha with the help of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He became the Union Coal Minister in the Manmohan Singh government, but was asked to resign following an arrest warrant in his name in the thirty-year old Chirudih case. After the warrant was issued, he initially went underground. On 28 November 2006, Soren was found guilty of murder in the twelve year old case of the kidnapping and murder of his former personal secretary Shashinath Jha. Soren is the first and only case of a Union Minister of the Government of India being found guilty of involvement in a murder. On 5 December 2006, Shibu Soren was sentenced to life imprisonment; he still awaits trial in the Chirudih case.

Now, which of the two makes you cry more? An 86 year old veteran putting Khajuraho to shame or a convicted criminal playing hoola hoop with Law and Order?

And yes, the BJP. What ethics are portrayed here by the party which shouted the meek and mild Manhohan into a corner when Soren was a Minister in the UPA government, is the one propping up the convicted criminal to don the mantle of the Chief Minister? Atalji, we sure are glad that you are not around to see where the Judges would be hiding in Jharkhand.

Switzerland- The Fall Guy??

Switzerland- The Fall Guy!!

So the Swiss Govt. thought that four minarets were enough to adorn the skyline of the country. Four is company, five is crowd? It is very much within their rights , after all , it is their country. I would not have read much into this decision if this was taken prior to 9/11 and dismissed it as a non happening. However, with all the brouhaha and chest beating in the recent past, this decision does draw attention. After all, what purpose does this ban serve? And frankly, I see no benefit accruing to the Swiss. I am perplexed not by the decision but by the lack of any significant purpose being served. Mosques have not been banned, Islam has not been shackled or stifled, Muslims have not been isolated. Islam will still be practiced much as it was earlier. Swiss people are as warm and accommodating with or without the Minaret. Some opined that there is a fear of Islam being perceived as militant and perhaps this ban serves the purpose of sending a notice to the fundamentalists!!? I would not subscribe to this as nothing untoward has ever been reported in Switzerland. So why this fear? But this sudden phobia for minarets did get me curious and it got me studying the relations between Muslims and Switzerland. I discovered that although Islam dates back to the 10^th Century, it has been only fifty years or so that Islam has grown. I believe that of the 150 mosques in Switzerland, only 4 have minarets, and only 2 more minarets are planned. None conduct the call to prayer over an open mike which might be upsetting the locals. There are about 350-400,000 Muslims in a population of some 7.5 million people. Close to 90 percent of Muslims in Switzerland are from Kosovo and Turkey and they practice their religion with utter humble discreet and respect. All has been peaceful so where is the question of the “rise of fundamentalism” in Switzerland?? There is no angst amongst the locals vis-à-vis Islam or Muslims per say. On the contrary, the Muslims gel well amongst the Swiss and form an integral part of the nation. Muslims in Switzerland abide by all Swiss laws and regulations. In general, no Swiss laws exist that directly interfere with any Islamic duty. For example, no Swiss laws forbid Muslims from exercising their religious beliefs or practices, such as praying or fasting. To date, no Islamic or Muslim political parties exist in Switzerland. Only a few Swiss Muslims are involved politically and the few Muslims elected to office have not made Islam their battle. To the contrary, their religious belonging usually remains silent and unobtrusive. Similarly, no Swiss political party has directed its political views against Islam. Though there are various Muslim associations in Switzerland, there are no Islamic schools. But there is increasing awareness about Islam and this is a positive sign.

Ulrich Schlüer, a member of Parliament from the S.V.P., said minarets were a symbol of “the political will to take power” and establish Sharia, or religious law. Preposterous. Unbelievable. Nothing more than ranting of a guy suffering from delusion of persecution. Imagine a few Minarets enabling a minuscule, infinitesimal 5% Muslims to conquer Switzerland and impose Sharia!! India with around 18-20% Muslims and thousands of towering minarets still remains a throbbing democracy with freedom of religion to one and all!! Wild accusations by indiscreet politicians who speak the words of those who suffer from a fear of Islam. They cause great disservice to the society and world peace. Minarets or no Minarets, Muslims will continue to patronize Switzerland- a cradle of warm and genuine people who welcome with an open heart, a warm smile and a hospitality par excellence.

Is there a more sinister design lurking somewhere in yonder lands? Some people far away from the honest and warm Swiss are looking in the hourglass and using the Swiss as the fall guy? This being just the precursor to greater happenings in the days to come?

"Weak" Creates History whilst the strong is consigned to "History"

Singh is King .

As the dust settles, we see the 200 mark up for Congress. None would have believed this just 24 hours back! The 15th Lok Sabha has certainly stirred the voter. And also the political parties. Suddenly we find the word introspection flowing from every tongue! BJP and the Left need to introspect their disaster whilst the Congress needs to understand why this windfall!! Dr.Singh goes in the annals of history as only the second Prime Minister to get re-elected for consecutive terms after a full first term. So much for a weak Prime Minister!
16th of May goes down in Indian History as the day when the Indian Politics has been rewritten. The Indian voter has woken up to the realities of today. He braved the harsh climate only to usher in a clinical revolution. And he did this silently and efficiently. It had to happen this way. The last five years saw the main party struggling for effective governance due to the heavy baggage of the allies. Each pulling it tangent to the other thus giving little room for proper movement. It was more like "One step forward...one step backward...one step sideways. The Left played the role of a belligerent bully though they did some good too. But in a nutshell, they did more harm than good. They also became arrogant and boisterous and took the nation for granted. Today they stand decimated loosing more than half their seats, but Prakash Karat shows little signs of regret, remorse and shame.
I have always maintained that the regional parties have a different agenda and normally collides with the larger national agenda. I believe that the two must be kept separate in order to maximize effective management at both the levels. I have advocated that the voter needs to be more mature. I wrote in my blog on the 10th of March, “ And yes, do look at the role at the centre played by the regional parties in the past. Have they been an asset or a hurdle? Each demanding their own pound of flesh at just the wrong time. Would it be better to have a single large party in the center or a coalition of just two or three…a badly fractured mandate normally ushers instability. Let us avoid this at all costs. We all know if multiple parties are involved in government formation, then decision making is hampered and is of poor quality. We should have distinct benchmarks for legislative and parliament elections. We should not be averse to vote for one party at the centre and another in the state…” I stand vindicated today as the tally of almost ALL the regional parties ahs taken a beating.
The voter has rejected the smaller parties and has actually voted for Congress and the BJP-the two national parties. The sign is good as policies and programs can be planned better. Regional parties need to concentrate in their specific areas and focus on development. I had written about Mayawati also and predicted what struck her on the 16th! Her arrogance and over confidence of her own so called social engineering left her fumbling as even the Congress breezed past her.
The voter has given the benefit of doubt and felt the Congress could not deliver due to the heavily fractured mandate of 2004. The verdict now is a confirmation that India wants stability - the resurgence of Congress in Uttar Pradesh confirms this. The voter has given the mandate to the Congress and will also hold it accountable. The onus now lies squarely on the door of Congress. Indian voter has given a low priority of other issues like the price rise, terrorism and so on. The mandate is for Dr Man Mohan Singh to finish the unfinished agenda. The voter has decided that Dr Singh is a strong leader who is capable of delivering.
And yes, the voter will also demand results-the price for the faith placed. Make no mistake, this is a mandate for finishing the unfinished agenda. People say it reflects secularism. I do not agree. BJP has lost some seats but has also shown Varun Gandhi and Menaka Gandhi winning.

Nitish...kya mamoo banaya!!

Nitish plays all aces!!

Quite sometime back I saw a film called Mask starring Jim Carey. Recently I saw the Indian version of the Mask, starring Nitish Kumar! If Jim Carey was amazing then Nitish has rewritten Indian Politics with a mind boggling act!! He played the soothest of ragas to the easily gullible Muslims of Bihar! His wonderful melody of “naa naa naa ray Modi” struck deep into the hearts of the secularists. And when the floored voter reached the ballot machine, his ears were still ringing with the “naa naa” and he pressed the button for Nitish. And he was a happy and content man. He had voted for the most secular man on the horizon…preferred over Laloo and Paswan.
Nitish must have chuckled in private! What prized fools these voters are! My mask was so well fitting that they could see not what I had hidden!! With the setting of the sun he prepared himself for the next agenda. Nitish must have sat in front of the mirror and smiled and then made an inter state call, “When shall we meet again, brother Modi”!! Surely on the Dias in Punjab! Came the reply from the butcher of Gujarat! Modi looked at the mirror once again and burst into an unstoppable laughter! I went to the dargahs, the masjids with a cap. And they fell for me !! Kya Topi peha dee!! Mamoo bana diya Bihar kee public ko!!
And then what we saw in the NDA rally made me suggest that Nitish should be nominated for the Oscars. What an incredible performance! The meeting with Modi showed the real happiness felt by Nitish. He had played his role to perfection. Now the time to come to real life….and this he did with a huge grin on his face as he held Modi’s hand aloft. It was a new kind of a High Five! And the two together made a perfect couple…one bluntly against secularism and the other the soft spoken Bihari who butchered secularism with the same sadistic approach albeit under the garb of a Sufi!!
I am appalled by the perversity of a man who professed equal treatment. I am saddened not by his deeds but the route he took to achieve his agenda. He has trampled innocence and honesty ruthlessly. He has hit the aam aadmi where it hurts. If he wanted to appease the butcher of Gujarat, then fine, he has the right to do so. Many are doing. Why take the route of playing with the emotions of the entire society? Sharing the dais with Modi was not a crime. He could have done so. But why mislead and tell utter lies to those who trusted you????
Nitish, now you are as bare as you are in the bathroom. The fooled public can see through you, though a wee bit late. You played your cards well but now everyone knows the real Nitish who wholly endorses the Modi Genocide. Nitish… Modi… bhai bhai!
This is all about the double speak so prevalent in our society. There are many Nitish Kumars masquerading in our society with the façade of innocence oozing from all over!!What needs to be done is that such double crossers should be given a strong dose of their own medicine. Yes, the “awam” got fooled this time. As a responsible citizen of India, we should not have a short public memory. Elections will come again. Teach them a lesson that will be a lesson to the chameleons of Indian politics.
And elections are round the corner…not too far, says my crystal ball!!